How To Wear Half Wigs Realistically!

My introduction to faux hair began with box braid extensions as a child.  I pretty much stuck with braids, soon graduating to mini-braids with human hair in the late 1990s.

The summer after I turned 16 I got my sew-in weave with human hair which began a long love affair with weave that I still enjoy to this day.  I never had any interest in wigs, synthetic or human because the only people who I knew who wore them were elderly ladies who’d lost most of their hair.

But with the rising popularity and lowering costs of synthetic wigs, I must admit I became curious.  It wasn’t until a hair tragedy that left me with a burned scalp and the inability to style my hair due to the injury that I actually purchased my first synthetic wig  out of necessity. It was a full cap style with bangs.

It didn’t look horrible per se, but it definitely had that “wiggy” look.  I realized that I would have to wear wigs to give my scalp and hair time to recover but had no desire to look like an old church lady with helmet of hair on my head!  So, being the generation X child that I am, I googled “How to Wear a Wig” and was introduced to the wonderful world of beauty gurus on YouTube in 2009.

I sat at my laptop in awe at the sheer volume of information that was available – everything from tips, tricks, suggestions, reviews and demonstrations was posted by a few generous, sharing souls who desired to help those of us with less “wig” knowledge.  AWESOME!

I ordered about six different wigs that first week after watching videos!  Between the tips I learned on YouTube and a few of my own techniques I’ve developed over the years, I’ve become somewhat of an expert at customizing those inexpensive half wigs and would love to share them with you.

1.  Braid your hair.  Nothing is worse than seeing a woman in a wig that has a lumpy ponytail which causes the wig to be raised in odd places.  Cornrow your hair and if you aren’t great at cornrowing, at least make a few plaits and pin them down.  A flat base makes all the difference in how your wig wears.
2. Finger comb the curls.  Synthetic hair often has a very uniform curl pattern, which when left undisturbed looks extremely unnatural.  To get the best look, gently finger through the curls.  For some of the tighter curled wigs, they can even mimic natural (un-relaxed) hair if you pull them apart enough.  For looser curled wigs you may find that a paddle brush gives the best finish, because it dulls a bit of the shine and causes the curls to fall more naturally.
3. Pull out some of your real hair to blend.  There are a few styles that look okay with a headband, but for the most natural look pull out some of your real hair to cover the wig line.

4. 

   Style your “leave out hair”.  I’ve seen plenty of ladies online and in real life with the prettiest half wig only to see their real hair simply gelled over the front line of the wig creating a hump.  SO 1990s!  Please style your leave out.  Curl it, crimp it, swoop it, part it, flip it – do SOMETHING to make it look natural as it covers the front of the wig.

5. Dull down the shine.  A tip I learned from beauty guru, Muffinismylovers, take a tiny amount of plain cornstarch on your palms and finger through your wig to remove the synthetic shine.  Brushing also helps to make the hair appear more natural as well.

With these tips, for $20 or less you can look like you have a perfectly coiffed ‘do and people will never be the wiser!  Happy Styling!